The subject matter described and/or illustrated herein relates generally to electrical contacts, and more particularly, to electrical contacts that include eye-of-the needle (EON) pins for mounting the electrical contact on a printed circuit.
Many printed circuits (sometimes referred to as “circuit boards” or “printed circuit boards”) include electrical vias that receive EON pins for electrically connecting the printed circuit to another electrical device, for example an electrical connector, another printed circuit, an electrical cable, or an electrical power source. The EON pins include compliant segments having spring arms that resiliently deform as the EON pin is inserted into the electrical via. The compliant segment engages an electrically conductive material on the interior wall of the electrical via to establish an electrical connection between the electrical via and the EON pin.
As electronic systems become smaller, the signal paths thereof become more densely grouped. Moreover, there is a continual trend for electronic systems to operate at higher data rates. Also, there is a demand for reducing the size of the electrical vias within printed circuits to satisfy the increased density and/or higher data rates. For example, smaller electrical vias can be more densely grouped on the printed circuit. Moreover, and for example, smaller electrical vias may have better electrical performance (e.g., less interference with neighboring electrical vias) than larger electrical vias, which may enable the smaller electrical vias to carry a higher data rate.
As electrical vias within printed circuits are made smaller (e.g., diameters less than approximately 0.75 mm), the EON pins must also be reduced in size to fit into such smaller electrical vias. But, the spring arms of such smaller EON pins may have a reduced operating range, which may prevent the EON pin from establishing a reliable electrical connection with the electrical via. For example, at the low end of the tolerance range of the diameter of the electrical via, the electrical via may be too small for the compliant segment of the EON pin, such that the spring arms become overcompressed as the compliant segment is inserted into the electrical via. Such overcompression of the spring arms may reduce the resiliency thereof, and thereby inhibit the spring arms from adequately contacting the conductive material on the interior wall of the electrical via. To prevent such a reduction in the operating range of the spring arms, the allowable tolerances of the electrical via diameter may be reduced. But, reducing the allowable tolerances of the diameter of the electrical via may increase the cost of manufacturing printed circuits and/or may reduce the number of printed circuits that can be manufactured within a given amount of time.